1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the preparation of shrimp product, more particularly to a process for the preparation of shrimp product which includes peeled and cooked frozen shrimps placed on a packaging platter.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates consecutive steps of a conventional method for preparing a frozen, peeled and cooked shrimp product. The method includes the step of orderly placing peeled raw shrimps on a tray with a mesh that covers the shrimps for positioning the shrimps on the tray. The tray is subsequently subjected to heat to cook the peeled shrimps. The cooked shrimps are then poured into a container after the mesh has been removed, and are rearranged on a packaging platter for subsequent freezing and packaging.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the aforesaid packaging platter normally includes a body 19 having an annular concave portion 190 and an annular convex portion 191 in conjunction with the concave portion 190. The cooked shrimps 2 are placed side-by-side on the packaging platter along radial directions. The body portion of each of the cooked shrimps 2 is laid on the convex portion 191 along the curved surface thereof in order to be well positioned on the packaging platter. The head portion of each of the cooked shrimps 2 extends curvedly and downwardly from the body portion and is disposed in the concave portion 190. Since the shrimps 2 curl in various degrees and directions upon cooking, a large height (h) of the convex portion 191 and a large width (w) of the concave portion 190 would be required to permit accommodation of different sizes of the cooked shrimps 2 on the packaging platter. The large height of convex portion 191 and the large width of the concave portion 190 increases the size of the packaging platter, and thus decreases the amount of the frozen cooked shrimps 2 that can be stored in a freezing room or in a container on a vehicle. Moreover, when rearranging the cooked shrimps 2 on the packaging platter, large gaps are formed among adjacent shrimps 2 due to irregular curling of the shrimps 2 during cooking. As a result, differing amounts of the cooked shrimps 2 for the same size of the packaging platters may occur, which is undesirable for manufacturers.
A further disadvantage of the conventional method may take place during the transport or handling of the shrimp product. After freezing, because of the presence of the large gaps between adjacent shrimps 2 on the packaging platter, frost formed in the large gaps cannot provide a strong connection for holding the cooked shrimps 2 tightly together. As a result, the cooked shrimps 2 can loosen during transport or handling, which, in turn, adversely affects the quality of the shrimp product. Furthermore, removal of the cooked shrimps 2 from the tray and rearranging of the cooked shrimps 2 on the packaging platter are laborious and tend to increase the risk of contamination of the cooked shrimps 2.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for the preparation of a frozen, peeled and cooked shrimp product that is capable of overcoming the aforesaid disadvantages of the prior art.
Accordingly, a process for the preparation of a frozen, peeled and cooked shrimp product of the present invention comprises the steps of: (a) providing a shape setting platter with a circumferentially extending concave portion and a circumferentially extending convex portion in conjunction with the concave portion; (b) placing peeled raw shrimps side-by-side on the shape setting platter, each of the raw shrimps being laid from the concave portion to the convex portion so as to impart the raw shrimps with a shape conforming to contour of the concave and convex portions; (c) covering the raw shrimps with a mesh that is flexed for contact with the raw shrimps so as to maintain shape of each of the raw shrimps on the shape setting platter when the shape setting platter is heated; (d) heating the shape setting platter to cook the raw shrimps; (e) removing the mesh from the cooked shrimps on the shape setting platter, and subsequently superimposing a cover on the shape setting platter in such a manner that a concave inner surface of the cover is in contact with the cooked shrimps, the inner surface having an impression that corresponds to that imparted by the convex and concave portions of the shape setting platter; (f) turning assembly of the cover, the shape setting platter, and the cooked shrimps formed in step (e) upside down to transfer the cooked shrimps onto the cover from the shape setting platter, and removing the shape setting platter from the cover; (g) superimposing a packaging platter, which has a shape and size essentially the same as those of the shape setting platter, on the cover, and turning assembly of the cover, the packaging platter and the cooked shrimps upside down to transfer the cooked shrimps onto the packaging platter from the cover; (h) freezing the cooked shrimps on the packaging platter; and (i) packaging assembly of the cover, the packaging platter and the frozen cooked shrimps formed in step (h).